Melania Trump denies Epstein ties: 'The lies need to end today'
First lady Melania Trump denied any connection to Jeffrey Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell, saying "the lies, linking me with a disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein, need to end today." She stated she never had a relationship with Epstein or Maxwell, and that she is "not Epstein's victim."
US first lady Melania Trump on Thursday denied any connection to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein or his associate Ghislaine Maxwell. "The lies, linking me with a disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein, need to end today," she said at the White House. She said that while she and her husband, US President Donald Trump, occasionally attended the same social events as Epstein, the overlap was typical of social circles in places like New York City and Palm Beach, Florida.
Casual correspondence
"To be clear, I never had a relationship with Epstein or his accomplice, Maxwell. My email reply to Maxwell cannot be categorized as anything more than casual correspondence. My polite reply to her email doesn't amount to anything more than a trivial note," she added. The first lady said she is "not Epstein's victim." "Epstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump. I met my husband by chance at the New York City Party in 1998," she added.
Call for public hearing
She urged Congress to provide the women who have been victimized by Epstein with a public hearing. Rep. Robert Garcia, a ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said the committee agreed with the first lady's call for a public hearing with Epstein survivors. "We encourage Chairman (James) Comer to respond to the First Lady's request and schedule a public hearing immediately," Garcia said.
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Trump's response
Trump told a reporter that he did not "know anything about" the statement prior to her on-camera appearance. "She didn't know him," he said, referring to Epstein. The first lady's senior adviser, Marc Beckman, said she chose to speak out amid growing frustration over "lies" being spread about her alleged ties to Epstein.
Epstein case background
Epstein was found dead in his New York City jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Last November, Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act into law, requiring the release of Epstein files. Trump announced Bondi's removal last week amid criticism over the Justice Department's handling of the Epstein files.
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